Improvement in carriage-springs



-J'. I. ADGATE & F. HICKMAN.

CARRIAGE SPRINGS. No.185,275. Patented Dec. 12, 1876.

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WITNESSES I I JV VEJVTOB 6 fi f, I

THE GRAPHIC CO.N.

UNITED STATES PATENT Semen.

JOSEPH J. ADGATE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND FRANCIS HIOKMAN, OF READING,PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE-SPRINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185,275, dated December12, 1876; application filed April 15, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, JOSEPH J. ADGATE, of New York, N. Y., and FRANCISHICKMAN, of Reading, in the county of Berks and in the State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCarriage- Springs; and do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification.

The nature of our invention consists in the construction of springs forvehicles elliptical in form, the ellipse being unbroken, and the severalellipses of which the spring is composed being graduated in thickness,as will be hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, bothFigures 1 and 2 represent side views of the spring, the several leavesbeing bound together in one instance, but not in the other.

In the figures, a represents an elliptic spring, which is made entire,or without ajoint. The thickness of this-spring, taken together with thelength of its major axis as well as its minor axis, will determine thethickness of the inner springs, as well as the length of their axes, asthey are, as a general thing, to have proportionate dimensions. 0 and erepresent smaller elliptic springs, and similar to the outer spring,except that c is made thinner than a, and c is made thinner than c, andthey have proportionately shorter axes.

If the outer spring should be made onefourth of an inch in thickness,each supplemental spring should be reduced about twosixty-fourths, andso continued as the springs grow shorter or more are used.

It is evident that, with this arrangement, if along and flexible springis desired, one or more of the inner ones may be removed, or, if ashorter and stiffer one is needed, the outer one can be removed andseveral smaller ones can be added on the inside.

This combination of separate springs is admirably adapted to lightwagons, which are liable to pass quickly over short deep rats, as theyprotect each other in the upward movement, and prevent breakage of eachother.

By forming the elliptic springs of a single piece, the end connectionsbetween the semiellipses are avoided, and there is no liability of onepart of the semi-ellipse springing from or becoming detached from theend connec' tion, as is common in cases where carriagesprings are madein semi-elliptic form and connected together at the ends.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim is- Acarriage-spring composed of two or more endless elliptical springs, a ce, of unequal thickness, and placed one within the other, substantiallyas and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our handsthis 22d day of March, 1876.

JOSEPH J. ADGATE. FRANCIS HIOKMAN.

Witnesses:

Jenn L.-JENNING-, ISRAEL 0. BEcKER.

